Category: Riding

I had a few hours free this morning so I decided to ride over to the coffee shop and get some caffiene. After that, I dropped off a book at the library then was planning to go home and relax but then I thought I would ride to the nearby school’s parking lot and practice some u-turns. I still have some trouble making these and the last time I practiced, I just wasn’t feeling it. I was a little tired and just couldn’t concentrate. I was disappointed because the previous time, I was really getting the hang of it.

But this morning I was fired up (most likely the coffee) and figured I might as well use this opportunity to sharpen my skills rather than just go home and play video games. I’m happy to say that it was clicking for me today and I was making much tighter turns, and my muscle-memory was taking over. That was really cool because I didn’t have to think so much about controlling the clutch and throttle. It just all seemed to work naturally.

A few months ago I bought the book Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough. It filled with great information that every motorcyclist should know. One surprisingly short section deals with u-turns and I picked up a couple good tips. I learned that to do a tight turn, you really need to lean the bike over. If you are just slow-speed turning with the bike perpendicular to the ground your turning radius is pretty large. So large in fact that you probably won’t be able to pull off a u-turn on a two lane street. (I know from personal experience!) So first, you need to throw the bike into a lean, while turning the handlebars pretty sharply. Then you need to use the clutch to control the stability. It helps to keep the throttle at a constant rev, and then just feather the clutch. To make a tighter turn, pull in the clutch lever. If the bike is leaning over too much and you feel like it’s tipping, let out the clutch and that power will straighten you up. After a while of practicing that, I started using the throttle more in conjuction with the clutch (and not having just a constant rev). This part is where the muscle memory and practice really paid off. Now when I feel the bike is at the tipping point, I don’t have to think about what to do to get it back in control. My left hand automatically lets out the clutch, and my right applies a bit more throttle. This is a really cool feeling!

A couple other things help me with the u-turns. First is keeping my body and head more perpendicular to the ground, and using the footpegs to maintain balance. It’s like when you are riding a bike up a hill and you stand up to get more pedaling power. The bike leans from side to side as you pump, while your body is pretty much straight up and down. On the motorcycle, you can lean the bike over, then apply pressure to the opposite peg to help balance it.

Another thing that helps is to look where you want to go. That’s one of the first things they teach you in the MSF class. And when you are doing u-turns you not only look with your eyes, but you crane your neck around pretty far. For me, I kind of just imagine the line I want to be taking, then look along that line about 20 feet out. In MSF, they say that if you see an obstacle in the road, don’t fixate on it, because you will head right towards it. For u-turns, I use this target fixation to help me guide where I want the bike to go. Kind of neat since it works!

I’ve also read that it helps to “drag” the rear brake as this will supposedly stabilize the bike. I’ve tried this a little bit, but was probably applying too much brake, since I stalled it out a couple times. Hopefully as the rest of the process becomes second-nature, I can add this element into the mix.

I still need to practice (never stop learning!) especially in one key area. I have trouble initiating the turn immediately from a stop. I usually need about five to eight feet of straight line acceleration before throwing it into the lean. In a few videos I’ve seen online, the rider will turn the bars first, then accelerate directly into a tight turn. Looks so easy! Hopefully I can improve in that area. Looking forward to the day that it “clicks” for me!

My friend Colin riding along on his motorcycle. Nice tunes too.

Last week I got a phone call from my sister-in-law’s dad, Richard. He said that my brother Kevin told him that I had a new motorcycle. Well, Richard was in San Antonio for a couple weeks and brought his bike and has been riding all around the Hill Country. He asked if I wanted to meet up on the weekend and go for a ride, and I of course said I’d love to. I had only rode solo before so this would be a new experience for me. I had no idea what kind of bike Richard rode, or if he wore a helmet even. I was somewhat surprised when he arrived at our house on a nicely farkled BMW R1100 RS, dressed ATGATT with a Revit Air mesh jacket and Shoei modular helmet. Pretty cool gear! After a short visit with my family we fueled up the bikes and headed out.

Of course we took 1431 west from Cedar Park. It was great weather, with clouds covering the sun and a mild temperature. We got caught behind a couple cars, but it was still a lot of fun. At Marble Falls, we headed south towards Round Mountain, then west again towards Willow City. I wanted to try the Willow City Loop since I’ve read a little about it and it seemed like it would be fun. I was not disappointed at all! It’s a pretty slow road; I kept it at around 30-35 mph and flipped up my faceshield to enjoy the breeze. The loop is very popular when the wildflowers are in bloom, with bumper to bumper traffic even! For us however, we only saw a couple cars (locals) and one group of motorcycles pass us in the other direction. The scenery itself is pretty great. The road gives some amazing vistas, and then drops down into a small canyon with cliff-faces off to the right side. There were several dry water crossings, and two that still had water. They were a little slick but nothing too terrible. Pretyy much the entire loop was fantastic. Lots of trees, a few deer and cows, and a really nice creek. It was almost like a good hike, but without the physical exertion. I think it is a road that you really need to ride if you are in the area (and it’s not wildflower season!).

After we finished the loop, we rode up to Llano for lunch and coffee. It was about 2:30 when we parted ways, with Richard heading south back down to San Antonio and myself heading east back home. It was a great day and I look forward to riding with Richard in the future.

Took a quick ride over to the library this evening, and Autumn is definitely in the air! Not only is it a lot cooler, but many houses have fires going in their fireplaces. And since it isn’t too late, lots of people have their barbecues going. This is part of what makes riding on a motorcycle so fun. You are really right in the elements, not having everything filtered through a windshield or air conditioning system. Sometimes the smells are not so great, like riding past a skunk or cow manure, but burning fireplace logs and BBQ totally make up for those times. They say the sense of smell can evoke vivid memories, and tonight I remembered the last time I experienced these things on a bike. I was still riding my little Supercub probably about a year ago. That was really a fun little motorbike. But the bigger bike is much better.